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1.characteristics - Classification of Living Organisms
1.characteristics - Classification of Living Organisms
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CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
CONTENTS:
1.1 CHARACTERISTICS
1.2 CLASSIFICATION
1.3 FEATURES OF ORGANISMS
1.4 CLASSIFYING ANIMALS
1.5 CLASSIFYING PLANTS (EXTENDED ONLY)
1.6 VIRUSES (EXTENDED ONLY)
1.7 DICHOTOMOUS KEYS
1.1 CHARACTERISTICS
• Respiration: the chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in living cells to
release energy
• Reproduction: the processes that make more of the same kind of organism
• Excretion: the removal from organisms of toxic materials and substances in excess of
requirements
YOUR NOTES
1.1 CHARACTERISTICS cont...
EXTENDED ONLY
• Respiration: the chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in living cells to
release energy for metabolism
• Sensitivity: the ability to detect or sense stimuli in the internal or external environment
and to make appropriate responses
• Growth: a permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell number or cell
size or both
• Reproduction: the processes that make more of the same kind of organism.
• Excretion: the removal from organisms of toxic materials, the waste products of
metabolism (chemical reactions in cells including respiration) and substances in excess of
requirements
• Nutrition: the taking in of materials for energy, growth and development; plants require
light, carbon dioxide, water and ions; animals need organic compounds, ions and usually
need water
EXAM TIP
MRS. H. GREN
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
1.2 CLASSIFICATION
• These species can be classified into groups by the features that they share e.g. all
mammals have bodies covered in hair, feed young from mammary glands and have
external ears (pinnas)
• Organisms were first classified by a Swedish naturalist called Linnaeus in a way that
allows the subdivision of living organisms into smaller and more specialised groups
• The species in these groups have more and more features in common the more subdivided
they get
• He named organisms in Latin using the binomial system where the scientific name of an
organism is made up of two parts starting with:
• When typed, binomial names are always in italics (which indicates they are Latin) e.g.
Homo sapiens
• The sequence of classification is: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
YOUR NOTES
1.2 CLASSIFICATION cont...
EXAM TIP
EXTENDED ONLY
• Organisms share features because they originally descend from a common ancestor
• Example: all mammals have bodies covered in hair, feed young from mammary glands
and have external ears (pinnas)
• Originally, organisms were classified using morphology (the overall form and shape
of the organism, e.g. whether it had wings or legs) and anatomy (the detailed body
structure as determined by dissection)
• Studies of DNA sequences of different species show that the more similar the base
sequences in the DNA of two species, the more closely related those two species
are (and the more recent in time their common ancestor is)
• This means that the base sequences in a mammal’s DNA are more closely related to
all other mammals than to any other vertebrate groups
DNA sequences can show how closely related different species are
• The sequences above show that Brachinus armiger and Brachinus hirsutus are more
closely related than any other species in the list as their DNA sequences are identical
except for the last-but-one base (B.armiger has a T in that position whereas B.hirsutus
has an A)
• As DNA base sequences are used to code for amino acid sequences in proteins, the
similarities in amino acid sequences can also be used to determine how closely related
organisms are
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
1.3 FEATURES OF ORGANISMS
• Cytoplasm
• Cell membrane
• DNA as genetic material (either found in the nucleus or free in the cytoplasm)
YOUR NOTES
1.3 FEATURES OF ORGANISMS cont...
EXTENDED ONLY
When viewed under an electron microscope (at a much higher magnification), all cells also
contain the following:
• Enzymes for respiration (in many, but not all types of cells, found in mitochondria)
• Plants
• Fungi
• Protoctists
• Prokaryotes
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
1.3 FEATURES OF ORGANISMS cont...
EXTENDED ONLY
• usually multicellular
• cells have nuclei and cell walls not made from cellulose
• do not photosynthesize but feed by saprophytic (on dead or decaying material) or
parasitic (on live material) nutrition
YOUR NOTES
1.3 FEATURES OF ORGANISMS cont...
• All have a nucleus, some may have cell walls and chloroplasts
• This means that some protoctists photosynthesise and some feed on organic
substances made by other living things
• Their cells have cell walls (not made of cellulose) and cytoplasm but no nucleus
or mitochondria
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
1.4 CLASSIFYING ANIMALS
Vertebrates
All vertebrates have a backbone. There are 5 classes of vertebrates:
Vertebrate classification
YOUR NOTES
1.4 CLASSIFYING ANIMALS cont...
Invertebrates
• All invertebrates with jointed legs are part of the phylum Arthropods
Arthropod classification
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
1.5 CLASSIFYING PLANTS
EXTENDED ONLY
• At least some parts of any plant are green, caused by the presence of the pigment
chlorophyll which absorbs energy from sunlight for the process of photosynthesis
• The plant kingdom includes organisms such as ferns and flowering plants
Ferns:
• Do not produce flowers but instead reproduce by spores produced on the underside of
fronds
Ferns
YOUR NOTES
1.5 CLASSIFYING PLANTS cont...
Flowering plants:
• Seeds are produced inside the ovary found at the base of the flower
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
1.5 CLASSIFYING PLANTS cont...
1. FLOWERS
2. LEAVES
• Leaves from dicotyledons have reticulated leaf veins (meaning that they are all
interconnected and form a web like network throughout the leaf)
EXAM TIP
So it is worth learning the two differences between their flowers and leaves.
YOUR NOTES
1.6 VIRUSES
EXTENDED ONLY
Features of Viruses
• Viruses are not part of any classification system as they are not considered living things
• They do not carry out the seven life processes for themselves, instead they take over a
host cell’s metabolic pathways in order to make multiple copies of themselves
• Virus structure is simply genetic material (RNA or DNA) inside a protein coat
• Keys are used to identify organisms based on a series of questions about their features
• Dichotomous means ‘branching into two’ and it leads the user through to the name of the
organism by giving two descriptions at a time and asking them to choose
• In order to successfully navigate a key, you need to pick a single organism to start with
and follow the statements from the beginning until you find the name
• You then pick another organism and start at the beginning of the key again, repeating
until all organisms are named
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
1.7 DICHOTOMOUS KEYS cont...
YOUR NOTES
1.7 DICHOTOMOUS KEYS cont...
KEY
EXAM TIP
• Simple dichotomous keys almost always come up in the multiple choice paper, so
make sure you can use one.
• When they do you almost always have to use one instead of constructing one:
so focus on this rather than spending hours learning to construct them yourself!
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
EXAM QUESTIONS cont...
? QUESTION 1
The image below shows a house mouse, whose scientific name is Mus musculus.
A Mammal
B musculus
C Mus
D Vertebrate
? QUESTION 2
The image below shows what occurs to a seed during and after germination, the
seed has been planted in well-watered soil.
YOUR NOTES
EXAM QUESTIONS cont...
? QUESTION 3
Which of the following would not be a characteristic seen in all living organisms?
A Reproduction
B Respiration
C Excretion
D Photosynthesis
? QUESTION 4
? QUESTION 5
Some of the processes carried out by living organisms are illustrated in the
diagram below.
CHARACTERISTICS
2 ORGANISATION
& CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ORGANISM
OF LIVING ORGANISMS
YOUR NOTES
EXAM QUESTIONS cont...
? QUESTION 5 cont...
Which row of the following table correctly describes the characteristics shown by
living organisms in the diagram above?
W X Y
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